Tyronn Lue latest to hit back at Charles Barkley over ‘take somebody out’ comment

Charles Barkley is facing some serious backlash for his comments Thursday night in which he advocated that the Atlanta Hawks get violent to take the Cleveland Cavaliers out of their comfort zone amidst a three point parade.

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was the latest to chime in on Thursday, criticizing Barkley for his remarks.

“I don’t think there’s any place in our game to take someone out if they’re playing well,” Lue said Thursday, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I think you can take it upon yourself to play harder and do things to stop it or stop a team from playing well.

“But when it gets into trying to hurt guys or trying to take guys out, that’s just not right. Hopefully the referees will keep an eye on it and make sure it’s a clean game. We don’t mind if it’s a physical game, but clean and everything that they do and we do is basketball related. I don’t believe in taking guys out and trying to hurt guys because a team or a player is playing well.”

It’s no surprise that Lue is sticking up for his players. He also defended their pursuit of the single-game record for three pointers made – a mark that they did break – arguing that “records are made to be broken.” He’s right. The Cavaliers saw a rare opportunity to break a pretty neat record and took it.

Barkley believed the Hawks should have played enforcer in response to Cleveland’s three point barrage. In addition to Lue’s retort, Barkley has been criticized by this former NBA star for his remarks.